Tempora Heroica

Tempora Heroica is a MUD. It is a text-based, fantasy roleplaying game that is home to a long-standing virtual community of players. The MUD is best known for its descriptive fantasy world, and for having a system of magic derived from the Ars Magica roleplaying game. It is the only surviving Ars Magica based MU* game. [ cite web|url=http://redcap.org/mush.html |title=Ars Magica MU* Links |accessdate=2007-05-25 ]

The game takes place in a persistent world where each player creates a hero (also known as a character) to roleplay. The player chooses to be a member of one of the four kiths: the Faerie Kith consisting of brownie, elves, pixies, satyrs, and selkies; the Hominid Kith consisting of humans and halflings; the Jotun Kith consisting of giants, ogres, and trolls; and the Nibelung Kith consisting of dwarves, gnomes, and goblins. With their hero, a player explores the game world, which is centered around the town of Wivernhoe, and battle monsters.

In June 2005, a new combat engine and new skill system was introduced to the MUD. The combat engine uses events, instead of the rounds or turns found in most RPGs, to regulate battles. Heroes are able to queue tactics before and during melee. The skills system arranges skills in a skill tree and skills are improved, when challenged, through use.

Origin of the Name

"Tempora Heroica" is Latin for "the Heroic Age". The phrase was coined by the Greek poet Hesiod and was one of the five "Ages of Man".

History

The MUD began in 1993 as Archipelago at the University of Essex and is derived from the CircleMUD code. In 1996 it moved to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The following year the MUD's name was changed to Tempora Heroica. The MUD's code base is still referred to as Archipelago or ArchCode. In 1999, Tempora Heroica moved to its present home at ibiblio where it is the site's only MUD. [ cite web|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/collection/collection.php?second=81 |title=ibiblio > Collection Index > Arts and Recreation > Games |accessdate=2007-05-25 ]

Tempora Heroica is also one of the oldest surviving DikuMUDs. [ cite web|url=http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.mud.diku/msg/6a111607341ae79e |title=The Oldest DikuMUDs |accessdate=2007-05-25 ]

References

See also

*CircleMUD

External links

* [http://www.ibiblio.org/TH/ Tempora Heroica MUD]
* [http://www.mudconnect.com/mud-bin/simple_search.cgi?Mode=MUD&mud=Tempora+Heroica Mudconnect information]
* [http://mu.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page A community site for discussion and promotion of MUDs]
* [http://www.mudconnect.com/mud-bin/prev/review.cgi?use_idx=1&mud=1146 Review by Silvana]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20000110232434/http://depraved.custard.org/review.html Review by Xorthan]